Robert Nix Dead: Atlanta Rhythm Section Drummer Dies at 67

Robert Nix, drummer and co-founder of the Atlanta Rhythm Section, has died. According to Ultimate Classic Rock, the 67-year-old musician passed away on Sunday morning (May 20) at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis, Tenn. A cause of death has not yet been revealed.

ARS frontman Rodney Justo and Nix got their start in the music business as members of Roy Orbison's band, the Candymen. From there, the drummer went on to back the beat of prominent Southern rockers like the Allman Brothers and Ronnie Van Zant.

Nix was also featured on Lynyrd Skynyrd's epic track "Tuesday's Gone." The Atlanta Rhythm Section formed in the early 1970s when some of the Georgia city's best studio musicians came together. They've often been described as a cornerstone of Southern rock while the band claims its influences came from nuanced British rock and progressive American acts like Steely Dan and Little Feat.

From 1971 to 1979, Nix helped write and record nine ARS albums, including Champagne Jam, the band's hit platinum record.

Robert Nix is survived by his wife and three children.

Listen to "Champagne Jam"

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